Maurice Davies
DAVIES, Maurice Coleman, JP (1835-1913)
Born in London, Davies moved to Tasmania with his parents in 1840 and to New Norfolk in 1847. After working in the Victorian gold diggings and acquiring capital, he moved to Adelaide where he established a business as a contractor and a supplier of building materials including timber.
After moving to Western Australia in 1875 and acquiring 8200 acres in the Wellington District in 1876, he built a timber mill near Worsley, but abandoned it after two years because of poor access roads. He acquired timber interests near Karridale in 1879 and the right to use the jetty at Barrack Point in Flinders Bay, and built a mill at Cooldarup (later Kudarup), the jetty at Hamlyn Bay for his timber station in 1882, and a larger mill at Karridale in 1884.
As a contractor, he built jetties at Fremantle and Carnarvon in 1886, the jetty at Eucla with Baillie and Wishart in 1887, and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse with J. Wishart in 1895.
Davies built a third mill at Boranup in 1888 and a fourth at Jerradene in 1892, and Alexander Bridge over the River Blackwood in 1897. He replaced his timber tramways with steel rails in 1892 and imported the locomotives ‘Kate' and ‘Renown' , and additional locomotives in 1898 when the length of his track exceeded 40 mile (60km).
He was appointed a Justice of the Peace and elected Chairman of the Augusta Roads Board in 1891, and he retired in 1902 when his company joined Miller's Timber and Trading Company.
References:
GG 1876 p131; 1880 p13; 1888 p289;
“Timber concessions to M.C. Davies” V&P WA1879, 36;
“Timber trade in the Sussex District”, V&P WA1884, A8;
“Report on timber trade in the Sussex District by Inspector of Forests” V&P WA 1885 A23;
“Agreement with holders of special timber concessions” V&P WA 1890~1, A12;
GG 1891 pp520, 530; 1895 p47;
Thomas, W.C. “Outlines of the timber industry in WA” WAHS 1, 1929, pp33 5;
Hamling, B.F. “Maurice Coleman Davies” WAHS 6 (8) 1969, pp39;
ADE 4, p32;
Hunt, L. “Westralian portraits”, UWAP, Nedlands, 1979, pp68‐72;
LPG p251;
C&M p48;
DWAE 2, p773. DWAE 3, p232;
SIF pp68 81;
Cresswell, Gail J. “The light of Leeuwin, Augusta Margaret River Shire History”. 1989, pp74 80 etc.
